Compare Prices on Enchantment of the Seas Eastern Caribbean Cruises

A cruise is what you make of it-- we had a blast!

Sail Date:
November 2010

Destination:
Eastern Caribbean

Embarkation:
Baltimore

Just recently returned from a nine night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Enchantment of the seas.

Our room: We went the cheap route since we do not spend a lot of time in our room (we sleep, nap, and shower only). Our room was in the front of the ship and it was an interior stateroom. We found it to be lovely and clean. Although it was a bit dark at times, we left the bathroom light/door closed on and we had no problem at all. To save money, we totally recommend booking an interior room. We were able to spend more money on other things.

The Ship: The ship was gorgeous! Seriously well maintained considering her age. We loved the Schooner bar and Boleros. Carnival cruiseline makes me feel dizzy and as though I have sensory overload with their neon lights and crazy colors. The decorating on the Enchantment was very subtle, but nice. The public spaces were very well maintained. Although she's a small ship, we enjoyed the quaint feeling that we got being on her. More

Pool Deck: The pool deck was great. There was always a place to sit and plenty of seats. We really enjoyed the pool deck.

Windjammer: We've seen a lot of complaints about how packed the windjammer was but we didn't have any problems finding a seat in there. At the most, it took us 15 seconds or one lap around to find a table. We often went about 1/2 hr to 45 minutes after it opened which may have helped. It was busier right at 12pm when they opened every day. The food was average in the windjammer. I really enjoyed the salad bar each day.

My Fair Lady: We requested a two person table but were sat with a table of 6. We are so happy that we were. The people at our table were amazing and we hope to stay life long friends. Our waiter was superb and the food was average to delicious. We never had anything that we didn't like. I feel as though the food was better towards the end of the cruise. The food was weakest the first three nights. We had such a blast dining in the main dining room and we loved when the waiters would dance and sing. They put on such a show. The bartenders were also excellent- Flavia in particular. We did eat lunch at the My Fair Lady b/c most reviewers rave about the salad bar. I prefer the salad bar in the wind jammer and I was not impressed with their service/food at lunch. I preferred to eat upstairs.

The entertainment: The shows were superb. I wasn't expecting much, with the smaller ship, but the shows were top notch. We had comedians, two broadway type numbers, a temptations cover group, an elton john cover group, a magician, among other things. We never had a problem getting a seat in the Orpheum, but we did arrive at least 10 minutes early to each show. We thought that the theater was GORGEOUS! I know that a lot of people complain about finding seats, but we never saw anyone that couldn't find one at all. The onboard entertainment and cruise director were also great. We had so much fun at the Love and Marriage game, trivia, scene it, if you know it dance it, name that tune, the dance classes, quest, among other things. You never run out of things to do on this ship. They had Wii tournaments, a beauty pageant for the men, ice carving demonstrations, bands almost all the time at night. If you wanted you could also rent games from the library for a more low key afternoon. Most sea days they also showed a movie in the Orpheum theater and they even had a big Monday night Football event. We had a blast!!!

The Ports: We enjoyed the ports a lot. In San Juan we walked around a bit and had an obligatory drink at Senor Frogs. We also grabbed some dinner (across from Senor Frogs) at Tijuanas and it was excellent. In St. Thomas, we went to Magens bay (got a cab independently). In Samana, we went to Caye Levantado and it was worth the price. It was our favorite island and the best part of our trip. Lastly, In Labadee we spent the day lounging on the beach.

The Bad: Our trip was very rough, weather wise. We had rain most days and the seas were treacherous. The captain told us that it was the worst he's ever seen in 12 years. Apparently, the atlantic can get a bit rough so be prepared with seabands and medication. Most days, barf bags were scattered around the ship.

Towards the end of our trip we had one particularly bad day with 45 foot swells. It was terrible! We were in the windjammer when one hit and everyone and everything went flying. Wine flew off the walls, 1,000 of plates broke, and a trash can headed straight towards us. I thought we were goners to be honest. It was the scariest moment. They ended up having the close the windjammer because it was so unsafe up there due to the sea state. That being said, the staff were incredible. They kept us entertained and tried to stay positive. You could tell that they were terrified as well and they made the best of the situation. People were hurt and they were having emergencies all over the place. I am still a bit scarred about what I saw in the Wind jammer that afternoon, but I will cruise again. We survived, and that is the worst a season captain had ever seen. Dinner that night at the main dining room was also dicey but we made it through-- things also broke and fell there but the show continued on and the staff kept a smile on their face. For that reason alone, these people deserve a medal. They really helped make our vacation so enjoyable.

One Complaint: There were a lot of older people on this cruise. I'm talking 70+ I'd say they made up the vast majority. I'm not sure if this is a RCCL thing or if it was the time of year (my husband and I are 29). We did see about 20 other couples our age on board.

I would not hesitate to try the Windjammer again. She is a gorgeous ship. Less